August Retail Price Index went down to 100.96 from 101.07

In August 2010, the Retail Price Index went down by 0.11 per cent. This primarily reflected a decrease of 9.82 per cent in the Clothing and Footwear Index, mainly due to a seasonal drop in the price of garments. Lower prices for gas caused the Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuels Index to go down by 0.42 per cent. A drop of 0.11 per cent was registered in the Beverages and Tobacco Index, mainly due to lower prices of spirits.

The Food Index went up by 1.32 per cent, mainly on account of higher prices of fish. An upward movement in the prices for child-minding services underlay an increase of 1.01 per cent in the Other Goods and Services Index. Higher airfares caused the Transport and Communication Index to increase by 0.46 per cent. An increase of 0.43 per cent was registered in the Household Equipment and House Maintenance Cost Index, mainly due to higher prices of carpets and household textiles. The Recreation and Culture Index registered an increase of 0.14 per cent, mainly brought about by price increases in books and newspapers.

In August, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 0.75 per cent, whereas the annual rate stood at 1.53 per cent.